<h4>Chapter 242 Chapter241-Banishing the Devil, Divine Scepter</h4>


    After a long while, Mammon lifted his head again.


    This time, his demeanor was a stark contrast to before.


    His drooping eyes shimmered with sighs and despair, his monstrous demonic face etched with loneliness.


    Even his massive form seemed to have shrunk in on itself.


    "Godyer, what do you intend to do with me? Are you nning to hand me over to your human Holy Light Church?"


    Seeing Mammon''s defeated posture, a glint of amusement shone in John''s eyes.


    This fellow even knew the art of strategic retreat?


    John was confident that if he truly handed Mammon over to the Holy Light Church, the demon would immediately disclose John''s Godyer ss in exchange for the God of Holy Light''s mercy.


    After all, for those lofty deities, a Devil from the Abyss stirring up chaos in the Godyer Continent would never be as critical as the appearance of a Godyer.


    The former only disrupted the deities'' collection of faith energy; thetter posed a direct threat to their very existence.


    "Do you have a desire to go to the Holy Light Church?" John''s voice dripped with irony. "nning to save your own skin by divulging my Godyer identity to the God of Holy Light?"


    John grinned enigmatically, cutting straight through Mammon''s intentions.


    Seeing that Mammon was about to object, John waved him off.


    "Don''t even think about it. You''ll remain in this Abyssal Prison. I''ll soon banish it into the void, so don''t expect it to simply dissipate."


    "If you can rely on your own capabilities to dismantle this Abyssal Prison''s ORDER, to align all the chaotic elements within it, then you might escape."


    Mammon''s face darkened instantly, his eyes sharpening into deadly slits.


    What John proposed was ludicrous. Mammon knew that in his prime, dismantling the Abyssal Prison wouldn''t be a monumental task, just time-consuming.


    After all, his level wasparable to that of an Abyssal Warden; there was no way he could be permanently trapped.


    But in his current grievously wounded state, aligning the chaotic ORDER of the Abyssal Prison was tantamount to a fool''s errand.


    He couldn''t afford to expend a great deal of ORDER divine power to break free, and the prison''s twisted, chaotic ORDER made it impossible even to absorb dark energy to recover his divine power.


    Mammon pondered a strategy, a glimmer of hope flickering in his eyes as a potential way out crossed his mind.


    He quickly lowered his head, hoping to conceal this faint glimmer.


    Yet John spoke softly, "I know what you''re thinking. You believe that since the Abyssal Prison is constructed from dark energy—your own element—you can absorb its energy to heal yourself?"


    Mammon''s head shot up, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''tpletely hide the astonishment flooding his expression.


    John continued, unruffled, "You''re wee to try and see if this Abyssal Prison is identical to an Abyssal Warden''s technique."


    "However, a word of caution: don''t blindly channel the prison''s energy into your body without investigating first. It might exacerbate your injuries."


    John suddenly extended his hand, beckoning slightly.


    The dark scepter that Mammon had left on the ground flew directly into his hand. "I''ll keep this safe for you. Consider it my spoils of war for defeating you."


    After a pause, Mammon chuckled sardonically. "That object bears my divine power imprint. Unless I die, no one else can use it. What good does taking it do you?"


    John arched an eyebrow and said tly, "Have you forgotten what my ss is?"


    He channeled energy into his body and infused it into the dark scepter. A cracking sound echoed, as if something within the scepter had shattered. Mammon''s essence rapidly dissipated.


    Simultaneously, not far away, Mammon let out a muffled grunt.


    Blood trickled once more from the corner of his mouth; clearly, John''s brazen erasure of the divine power mark within the scepter had exacerbated the Devil''s injuries.


    Mammon looked at John in disbelief, never anticipating that the Godyer ss could possess such overpowering abilities.


    His own divine power imprint was eradicated so effortlessly...


    John lowered his gaze to the scepter in his hand.


    With Mammon''s divine power mark removed, the scepter''s attribute information was now fully revealed:


    [Origin of Desire (Divine Equipment): Born from darkness, belonging to one of the 72 Devils of the Abyss, the scepter apanies the Devil of Desire, Mammon. In essence, it is more like the physical manifestation of the Devil of Desire''s ORDER—a wicked and potent force. Originally bound by Mammon''s divine power imprint, rendering it unusable by others, the scepter has now converted to a universal equipment due to the special force that shattered the imprint.]


    [Level: Unlock preliminary equipment at level 200 or when divine power reaches 700. (Note: At level 200, only partial basic abilities of the scepter can be used. Further unlock at level 500 to use all basic abilities. Full abilities unlockable only at level 1000 or above.)]


    [ss: Suitable for all sses, with an affinity for Mage sses...]


    [Attributes: +300 Holy Light Resistance, +500 Mental Resistance, +480 Toughness, +120% Spell Damage (locked), +2500 Spell Crit Damage (locked), +2000 Physical Crit Damage (locked)...]


    [Additional Skill 1: Greed (locked): Skill can be cast twice consecutively, affecting the mental world of all enemies within a thousand-yard radius, awakening their deepest desires and making them forget battle. A double cast causes enemies to attack each other, increasing inter-enemy damage by 100% (Note: Secondary effect only applies to enemies lower in level than the caster). Duration: 300 seconds, Cooldown: 24 hours]


    [Additional Skill 2: Confusion (locked): Skill can be cast twice consecutively, causing mental disarray in up to five enemies and blocking their visual and auditory senses. A second cast disorients enemies'' sense of time and space, making them unable to distinguish direction and reducing their speed by 99% (Note: Secondary effect only applies to enemies lower in level than the caster). Duration: 150 seconds, Cooldown: 24 hours]


    ...


    John''s eyebrows shot up.


    Wasn''t this scepter''s attributes a bit too game-breaking?


    Ignoring the almost ludicrous additional skills for a moment, just the basic attribute enhancements alone would be enough to drive any yer insane.


    Within the cascade of disyed data, various resistances were maxed out, along with percentage-based increases in both physical and magical critical damage.


    Any ss equipping this scepter could experience a quantum leap in their capabilities.


    What left John speechless was that this was an exceedingly rare piece of growth equipment—although calling it "growth equipment" seemed a bit inappropriate.


    These attributes were intrinsic to the scepter itself.


    It''s just that the wielder''s level wasn''t high enough to unlock them...


    The fact that it only requires a level of 200 or a divine power of 700 for initial equipping noticeably esctes the scepter''s allure among yers.


    Generally, the more exceptional the attributes of an equipment piece, the higher the level required to wield it.


    This scepter defies that norm; it merely restricts full attribute ess until higher levels are reached.


    Even the basic attributes are more than sufficient for yers to use.


    John stows the scepter into his backpack, a satisfied smile gracing his lips.


    Though he hasn''t decided how to handle this extraordinary piece of equipment, reaping such a trophy certainly made his efforts worthwhile.


    Lifting his head, he finds Mammon gasping for breath, kneeling at a distance, eyes filled with malevolent intent fixed on him.


    John remains unfazed, smiling lightly, "Don''t look so bitter; I''ve spared your life, after all. Isn''t it normal to collect some spoils of war?"


    Mammon rasps, "You''d best hope I never escape this damned cage. Otherwise, I''ll plunge the entire Godyer Continent into an abyss of desire, and the sins will be on your head!"


    Shrugging, John casually retorts, "Then you''d better pray that I meet my end at the hands of some other deity, or this Abyssal Prison will exist eternally..."


    He pauses, then adds, "Or perhaps your devil brethren could brute-force their way here through the void, aiding your escape."


    Mammon''s face turns ashen.


    John''sst statement feels like a mocking jest.


    They''ve searched the void for tens of thousands of years, unable to locate where Azazel was banished and sealed—how could they find this Abyssal Prison?


    Perhaps hoping for the Godyer before him to die amidst a deity onught seems a more hopeful avenue.


    Just as Mammon sinks into despair, John waves, "I''ll take my leave then, Your Devilship..."


    As his voice trails off, his figure vanishes into the barren expanse.


    The light fades, the void seals the order here in perpetual chaos.


    Mammon sits on the ground, looking around but seeing no light.


    Even its prided psychic energy can''t reach out.


    For the first time, Mammon tastes a stillness more deathly than the abyss.


    And for the first time, Mammon thinks that perhaps death isn''t so fearsome after all.